Dry Reforming of Methane Using a Nickel Membrane Reactor

Abstract

Dry reforming is a very interesting process for synthesis gas generation from CH 4 and CO 2 but suffers from low hydrogen yields due to the reverse water–gas shift reaction (WGS). For this reason, membranes are often used for hydrogen separation, which in turn leads to coke formation at the process temperatures suitable for the membranes. To avoid these problems, this work shows the possibility of using nickel self-supported membranes for hydrogen separation at a temperature of 800 ∘ C. The higher temperature effectively suppresses coke formation. The paper features the analysis of the dry reforming reaction in a nickel membrane reactor without additional catalyst. The measurement campaign targeted coke formation and conversion of the methane feedstock. The nickel approximately 50% without hydrogen separation. The hydrogen removal led to an increase in methane conversion to 60–90%.